


The Brightest Witch of her Age

by DarsieCasady



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-03-21 17:39:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3701051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarsieCasady/pseuds/DarsieCasady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily Evans has recently found out she was a Witch. This is the story of her time at Hogwarts. Her beatiful friendship and heartbreaking falling out with Severus Snape. Her initial loathing and eventual deep love for James Potter. This, is what happened before Godric's Hollow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lily and Severus are lying on their backs in their meadow. They call it their meadow because they meet here every day and spend hours together talking and charming objects to dance around as they please.  
“Oh, Severus, I can’t believe the time has finally come! We leave for Hogwarts tomorrow!” She looks over at him grinning from ear to ear. His eyes dart from her face to the blade of grass he is sliding between his fingers. He notes how closely it matches the color of her bright emerald eyes. He sneaks a peak of her face, she is still grinning like a Cheshire. He blushes.  
Severus has not seen many beautiful things in his life – in fact, the only beauty he has seen is in this meadow, their meadow. The majesty of the opalescent sky, the wild flowers growing willy nilly, even in the most unexpected places – but the most beautiful of all is Lily. Her flaming red hair, bright piercing eyes, and cheeks flushed with excitement. Her most stunning quality however, is her friendship. Lily is always there for Severus. Whether he needs someone to talk to him, listen to him, or just sit with him; Lily is always there. He’s thanked his stars many times for the close proximity of their homes.  
“Sev?” Lily asks reaching out for his hand, “Is everything okay?”  
“Yeah.” Severus almost whispers, finally meeting Lily’s eyes.  
“Aren’t you excited too?”  
“Yeah, I am.” It’s not exactly a lie, he is excited but he worries when Lily meets other wizards that she won’t like him as much.  
“Don’t worry Sev, you’ll still be my best friend.” She squeezes his hand and eases his mind.  
“Lily! It’s time you come home! Say goodbye to your little freak friend!” Lily’s sister Petunia calls from the edge of the meadow.  
Lily bolts up, her face turning the same shade of her hair, her fists clenching. “Don’t listen to her Lily,” Severus says quietly sitting up with her. “She’s only jealous because she is not like us.”  
“I know Sev, but I don’t like it when she talks about you like that, it’s just not right.”  
“Well, actually she is right. I’m not normal. I’m weird and –“  
“Stop Severus. You’re right. You’re not normal. You’re better than that. You are Severus Snape and you are a wizard – the best one I know too!” Lily’s emerald eyes shine and she smiles softly at him. Severus grins back at her. She loves seeing him smile – it does not happen often.  
“D’ya hear me weirdo? Come home!” Petunia calls again.  
“I’m coming Petunia!” Lily yells at her sister. “Bye Severus,” she says throwing her arms around his neck, “I’ll see you at Kings Cross tomorrow!” With that she runs off to meet her sister. Petunia shrieks when Lily charms a stick to chase her all the way home.

Lily is pleased that she talked to Severus about Platform 9 ¾ before today. Otherwise, she would not have known how to get to it. The portal leading to the platform looks like a regular brick wall so that the muggles, or non-magical people, do not see the Hogwarts Express. The International Confederation of Wizards passed the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy to ensure the wizarding world was kept secret from muggles. Severus told Lily that some muggles did not take to magic very well. Lily did not understand what he meant until she saw the way Petunia acted about it.  
“But do I have to go?” Petunia whined. She didn’t want to go to the platform to see Lily off – she didn’t want to be around all those ‘freaks’. Before her parents could say anything Lily spoke up, “It’s okay Mum, I can make it by myself, Severus told me what to do.” She put her shoulders back to seem older.  
Mrs. Evans looked at both of her daughters, a compromise was in order, “We will walk as far as Platform 8 with you and you can go the rest of the way on your own. How’s that?”  
“Okay!” Lily exclaimed. Petunia simply rolled her eyes. That was the best Mrs. Evans could have hoped for. Once the Evans’ reached Platform 8 they bid their youngest daughter goodbye. Lily wrapped her arms around both of her parents and promised to write them. When she turned to Petunia to give her a hug and tell her goodbye – her sister scoffed at her and turned away.  
Lily hugged her parents one last time before turning and going toward Platform 9 ¾. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and ran for the wall separating her from the wizarding world.


	2. Chapter 2

On the other side of the wall the scarlet engine puffs smoke while waiting for the students to climb aboard and start their journey to Hogwarts. Lily thinks of all the people on the other side of the wall who have no idea this place even exits, she giggles. I need to find Severus, Lily thinks and she sets off through the crowd to do just that. With all the people on the platform she is starting to think it will be impossible. She never considered she’d have to ride the train alone.  
“Lily?” the voice is right behind her. She turns around to a slender boy with long stringy black hair. “Oh Sev! I was starting to think I would never find you!” She throws her arms around his neck and he timidly wraps his long arms around her back. “Well, I’m here now. Shall we board the train then?” Lily nodded excitedly, like a small child asked if they want ice cream.  
While walking through the train cars looking for a compartment to sit in, Severus smiles over his shoulder, “You better be in Slytherin.” A boy from the compartment they are passing states loudly that he would rather leave Hogwarts than be in Slytherin. Severus stops walking to see who was saying such things. Another boy in the compartment says his whole family has been in Slytherin. He does not look enthused. A lock of his wavy black hair falls into his grey eyes and he asks, “If you could be in any house, which would you like?”  
The boy with the crooked grin and dark, messy hair replies arrogantly, “Gryffindor, just like my dad!”  
“Sure, if you prefer brawns to brains,” Severus scoffs.   
“Oh yeah?” the cocky one confronts Severus.  
“Come on Severus, let’s go sit somewhere else,” Lily says tugging on his sleeve. She does not want to deal with the possible repercussions of this confrontation; Severus knows many hexes.  
“Yeah Snivelus, better listen to your friend,” the cocky one spits.  
“Catch ya later Snivelus!” the wavy locked boy with the Slytherin family calls as Lily drags her friend down the corridor before he can reach his wand. “Don’t listen to them Sev, I’m sure Slytherin is wonderful,” Lily tries to comfort her friend while they take their seats in an empty compartment.  
“It is Lily, I promise. It’s the best house at Hogwarts!” Severus says grinning slightly. He couldn’t help but grin when he was around Lily. She had a certain effect on him that he couldn’t quite place, he’d never felt anything like it.  
Lily looks out the window watching the country side pass by. “Severus?” she asks after a while. Severus looks at her, pretending he hasn’t been sneaking glances at her throughout the ride. “Did you know those boys? From earlier?”  
“I know the one. With the Slytherin family. His name is Sirius Black.” Severus looks as though he’s got a bad taste in his mouth.  
“Is he always so dreadful?”  
“I’ve never formally met him but I know of his family. I expected more of him, really. He doesn’t seem much like the other Blacks I’ve seen.”  
“Oh, I see.” Lily replies contemplating what Severus has just told her.  
“Anything from the trolley dears?” A plump woman with graying hair asks at the door of their compartment. Severus shakes his head, but Lily asks for two cauldron cakes. She pays the round woman and takes the cakes, giving one to Severus.  
“Thanks Lily,” he says sheepishly taking the cake from her.  
“Of course, Sev! There’s no one else I would rather be sharing my first cauldron cake with.” Lily beams at him and Severus smiles back at her. “This is fantastic!” Lily exclaims. Severus lets out a hearty laugh. “What is it?” she asks dumbfounded.  
“Come ‘ere,” says Severus. Lily leans in and Severus reaches out to wipe chocolate off the tip of her nose. He pops his finger in his mouth and sucks the chocolate off.  
“Oh, that’s embarrassing,” Lily cries before falling into a fit of laughter. “I don’t know what I’d do without you Sev.” Severus blushes slightly, averting his eyes from her face. “This is quite a long train ride,” Lily yawns.  
“Take a nap,” Severus replies, “you’ve got time. The sun’s only just begun to set, it will be dark when we get there.”  
“You’ll wake me up when we get close?”  
“Promise.”  
Lily gave Severus a sleepy smile before leaning her head over on his shoulder and drifting off to sleep. Severus did not want his arm to fall asleep but more than that, he did not want Lily to be cold and uncomfortable so he slides his arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

“Lily, Lily wake up. We’re almost there.”  
Lily sits up and wipes the sleep from her eyes. She glances out the window, “Wow, it got dark.” Severus nods smiling to himself, watching the excitement dance across her face.   
A few minutes later the scarlet engine rolls to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. Lily’s heart is pounding as she looks at Severus, “Where do we go now?”  
“Well…”  
“Firs’ years!” a booming voice calls from outside the train. “Firs’ years, this way!”  
“We follow that voice,” Severus says. Lily’s mile nearly splits her face in half. She grabs Severus’ hand and tugs him along behind her to find the person behind the voice.  
“Gather ‘round, gather ‘round,” the voice belongs to a mountain of a man with bushy brown hair and a large bushy beard to match. Lily has never seen anyone as big as this man, her excitement changes to awe as she stares up at him. “Evenin’ firs’ years. You had an enjoyable journey, I trust?” The man receives a chorus of agreement from the crowd of first years. “Good t’hear, good t’hear. I’m Hagrid, I’m the groundskeeper here at Hogwarts. Now, follow me.” With that, Hagrid turns and heads toward a dark body of water.  
“That’s the Black Lake, I hear a giant squid lives in there,” the boy Lily learned to be Sirius Black whispers to his new friends.  
Lily is right on Hagrid’s heels, still dragging Severus behind her. “You’ll get yer first sight of the castle in a second, jus’ round this bend ‘ere.”   
Just then a grand stone castle with many towers and turrets comes in to view. Light reflects from its windows like stars on the smooth black water. “Oh, Severus! Look! Oh, it’s so beautiful!” Lily bursts, all but jumping up and down with excitement.  
“Yeah, it is,” Severus says quiely, looking more at Lily than the great castle.  
Hagrid chuckles at Lily’s excitement, “It is quite a sight it’n it young lady?” Lily grins up at Hagrid, “Oh yes, it’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen.”  
Hagrid chuckles again before addressing the group, most of them having reactions similar to Lily’s, “Alright now load up the boats! Careful now, careful. No more’n four to a boat!” Lily and Severus squeeze into a boat with Hagrid. It’s not very comfortable, but Lily has questions for Hagrid.   
“So Hagrid, what happens now?” Lily asks, her eyes shining like stars.  
“You’ll go to the Great Hall and the sorting hat will sort you into your House. Then, you’ll have a feast!”  
“I hope you get Slytherin,” Severus mentions again. Hagrid shows no sign of distaste like the boys on the train did.  
“I don’t care which House I get, I’m just glad to be at Hogwarts,” Lily comments.  
“That’s the spirit!” Hagrid exclaims. “What’s yer name young lady?”  
“I’m Lily Evans, and this is my best friend Severus Snape.”  
“I’m pleased t’meet you two. I gotta feelin’ yer gonna do great things Miss Evans,” he leans down to be eye level with Lily, “great things.”


	3. Chapter 3

Lily, Severus, and the rest of the first years make their way into the great castle. A tall woman with piercing green eyes and her black hair tucked neatly under her pointy hat greets them from the top of the stairs, “Welcome to Hogwarts, first years. I am Professor McGonagall, professor of transfiguration and head of Gryffindor House. You are about to be sorted into your Houses – the four Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each has its own great history and they have all produced outstanding witches and witches and wizards. You will eat with your House, sleep in your House dormitory, attend classes with your House, and even spend your free-time in your House common room. Any rule breaking you might do while here, will cost you House points, while any successes you will have, will earn you House points. The House with the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup.   
“I expect you all are anxious to be sorted into your Houses, but first let me remind you - no matter which House you’re in, we are all a family here. I trust you will treat each other as such.” Professor McGonagall is fierce, she would take no nonsense; Lily could tell. “When we get to the Great Hall, I will call your names and you will come sit on the stool and the Sorting Hat will announce in which House you belong. Now, follow me.”  
The Great Hall is, in fact, great. There are four long tables stretching from one end of the room to the other, each of them decorated for each of the Houses. All of the other students sit at the tables talking loudly to one another. At the front of the room sits another long table, but this one is perpendicular to the others and adults are sitting at this one.  
“Oh Severus, look at the ceiling!” Lily gasps. On the ceiling, stars shine like diamonds in the night sky – almost as though there were no ceiling at all.  
Severus smiles sheepishly, “It’s been charmed to reflect what the sky outside looks like.”  
“That’s amazing,” Lily murmurs awestruck.  
Professor McGonagall leads the first years to the front of the hall. A small wooden stool waits for the new students with an old, musty looking hat perched atop it. The first years gather around the stool anxiously while the hat begins to sing a song telling of the history of Hogwarts and of the Houses. From the song Lily learns that Slytherin is known for their cunning, Gryffindor is known for their bravery, Hufflepuff is known for their loyalty, and Ravenclaw is known for their wit. As she contemplates which House she might belong in, Professor McGonagall calls the first name, “James Potter”  
The arrogant boy with the disheveled hair from the train walks up to the stool and sits down. “GRYFFINDOR!” the Sorting Hat shouts as soon as it touches his head. This is answered with an uproarious cheer from the Gryffindor table. James Potter stands up with a grin as big as his face and makes his way over to the table.  
“Frank Longbottom.”  
A short boy with straw colored hair nervously makes his way up to the stool. When he sits, he squeezes his eyes shut to block out the crowd in front of him. The hat takes a moment longer than before to contemplate Frank before exclaiming, “HUFFLEPUFF!” Frank follows the cheers over to the Hufflepuff table, the Hufflepuffs greet him with smiles and high fives and pats on the back.  
“Peter Pettigrew.”  
Another boy from the train, Lily remembers. He is not like the other three he was with, but Lily can’t quite figure out the difference. Professor McGonagall places the Sorting Hat on top of his mousy brown hair. His round face widens as the hat begins to murmur in his ear, “Hmm where to put you. You are very tricky Mr. Pettigrew – you could belong in Slytherin, but you may be brave like a Gryffindor, I do not think Hufflepuff is quite right for you nor is Ravenclaw…”  
“Severus, why is this one taking longer? Is something wrong?” Lily whispers.  
“Sometimes this happens, it’s called a hatstill, I believe. The hat cannot decide what the best fit is, so it takes extra time to think about it. Nothing is wrong though” Severus squeezes Lily’s hand reassuringly and she smiles at him just as the hat bellows, “GRYFFINDOR!”  
“Severus Snape.”  
Lily squeezes his hand once more before letting him make his way to the stool. His black hair hangs in his face and makes reading his expression impossible as he sits there. Professor McGonagall places the Sorting Hat on his head and it begins to contemplate Severus’ placement. “You would do well in Slytherin, but perhaps that’s not the best place for you. Perhaps, you are more suited for Gryffindor, you have a brave heart, Severus. One day you will have to choose between what you know and what you know is right, I trust you will make the brave choice.”  
“Please. Don’t put me in Gryffindor.” Severus pleaded with the hat.  
“Not Gryffindor?”  
“My mother will hate me more than she already does.”  
“I see, well then the choice is clear, but remember what I’ve told you. SLYTHERIN!”  
Severus was welcomed to the Slytherin table with a pat on the back and a smile from an older boy with long, shining white hair. Severus’ mood was still hard for Lily to read because his face was still shielded by his hair, but Lily is extremely happy for him; he wanted so badly to be in Slytherin.  
“Remus Lupin.”  
The only other boy from the train that Lily doesn’t know yet walks shyly up the steps to the stool. After the hat is placed on his head, it only takes a moment for it to declare, “GRYFFINDOR!” The shyest, or perhaps, the kindest of the boys from the train follows his friend’s footsteps to the Gryffindor table.  
As another student is called to the stool, Lily thinks back to the train ride to Hogwarts. If Gryffindors are supposed to brave, why are those dreadful boys being sorted into it? Maybe, thought Lily, that’s one house I don’t want to belong to. An uproar from the Ravenclaw table pulls Lily away from her thoughts and back into the Great Hall.  
“Lily Evans.”  
Lily takes a deep breath and walks up to the stool with her head held high. The Great Hall looks even larger from up here, if that is even possible. The hat starts mumbling, “Miss Evans, where should I put you, you are very bright – maybe Ravenclaw would suit you well. However, you are very strong and most definitely brave enough to stand up for what you know is just…”  
“What about Slytherin?” Lily whispers.  
“Ah, you want to be in Slytherin, I don’t think that’s quite the best fit for you. You are ambitious but I think you are more brave and intelligent than you are cunning. You will bend the rules to fight for what you believe in and you are smart enough to get it done.”  
“I see, thank you for explaining that to me.”  
“Of course. I think I’ll put you in…. GRYFFINDOR!!!”  
Lily stands up with a smile big enough to split her face in half, she forgets all about maybe not wanting to be in Gryffindor. She makes her way to the table filled with her new family. Lily walks right past the Potter boy, not even noticing him. He noticed her though, the way her face lit up when she smiled, the way her hair glowed in the candlelight – he thought she was the prettiest 11 year old he had ever seen.  
Lily sits next to a second year with brown hair that was cut like a pixie, she said her name was Alice. The pair continued to talk while Sirius Black was also sorted into their house. Alice cheers, but Lily groans; when Alice gives her a quizzical look, Lily explains the train ride. By the time she finishes the tale, everyone has been sorted. “What happens now?” Lily asks.  
“Well…” Alice starts but she is interrupted by an old man with a long white beard.  
“To my first years, welcome to Hogwarts. To my returning students, welcome back. I just know that this will be the best year we’ve had at Hogwarts yet. For those of you that don’t know me, I am Professor Dumbledore and I am the headmaster. Before we feast, I have a few announcements; we have a new caretaker, Mr. Filch, there is to be no roaming the halls after dark, and the Forbidden Forrest is off limits to all students. Now, with the formalities out of the way, let us eat!”  
And with that, food appears on the table in front of the students. There is roast chicken, shepherd’s pie, roast beef, lamb chops, Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, peas, carrots, and even fries. “Wow!” cries Lily, “this is amazing! Everything looks delicious. But, where does it all come from?”  
“The kitchens are under the Great Hall, the house elves cook the food and put it on the tables below us and they use magic to make it appear on our table. Do you want some chicken?”  
Lily nods her head, she is still looking around, trying to take everything in when suddenly a ghost appears before her, “Why, hello, allow me to introduce myself, I’m Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. I am the ghost of Gryffindor tower.”  
“Oh, it’s um, very nice to meet you Sir Nicholas de….what was the rest of it again?” Lily asked sheepishly.  
“Never mind the rest of it, Sir Nicholas will do just fine miss. Welcome to Hogwarts.” and with that Sir Nicholas floated away.  
“That was Nearly Headless Nick, they call him nearly headless because his head was almost cut off all the way, but the blade was too dull to cut all the way through. The executioner swung his axe forty-five times before Sir Nicholas finally died.” Alice tells Lily between bites of food. Lily looks from Sir Nicholas, who is now floating further down the table and talking to the Potter boy, back to Alice horrified. Before she can ask, Alice continues, “He was trying to straighten some Lady’s teeth, but his spell backfired, and she grew a tusk.”  
Lily nearly chokes with laughter. It had to have been funny looking, to see a Lady with a tusk, but what happened to Sir Nicholas was not funny, it was dreadful, Lily thinks to herself. “What happens next?” asks Lily, eager to change the subject.  
“Now, we have desert!” Alice gestures to the table. In place of the food, there are bricks of ice cream in at least ten different flavors, there are puddings and pies, cookies of all sorts, rice pudding, éclairs, even doughnuts. The students sit happily at their tables enjoying their deserts and talking about upcoming classes until Professor Dumbledore stands up and announces, “It is getting late students. It is time to retire to your dormitories. Your belongings have been put in your rooms. First years, as you have no idea where you are going, follow the prefects from your House. You don’t want to get lost on your first night here.” He raised his arms slowly as if both signaling them all to stand and giving them an air hug. With that, all the students stood and began to file out of the Great Hall.


	4. Chapter 4

Lily falls in line with the other first years, following the prefect for their house – a rather tall girl with straw blonde hair and really long arms, back to the Gryffindor common room. Along the way the prefect is telling the new students important information about the castle, “You had better pay attention to where you’re going because the staircases move.” Just then, as if on cue, the grand marble staircase started to grumble. Startled, Lily grabs hold of the railing, she notices that she is not the only one to do so. The grumbling staircase frees itself from the wall and swings around to the landing on the other side of the hall. “Well this is inconvenient…” mumbled the prefect, “Sometimes, the stairs will move and make you go an entirely different direction than you need to go, so plan on that when you head to class, Professor McGonagall does not tolerate tardiness.”  
After a few more moving staircases and winding through some halls, the group of Gryffindor first years come to a portrait of a fat lady, “Look at the wee first years,” she cried.  
“Yes, yes, they’re adorable,” the prefect rolled her eyes.   
The Fat Lady huffed, exasperated by the tall girl in front of her. “Password?”   
“Caput leonis.”   
With that, the Fat Lady swung herself out of the way, revealing a portrait hole for the students to climb through. Before making her way through the hole, the first years’ straw haired guide said, “You all might want to remember that, if you want to get back in here.”  
On the other side of the portrait hole there was a large marble fireplace bearing the Gryffindor crest with a warm, crackling fire glowing inside it. All of the furniture, the couches, the chairs, the ottomans, even the large sitting cushions are red and embroidered with gold. A red and gold tapestry covers the walls. There are various sized tables all spread throughout the room, Lily notes that those must be for working on homework.  
“Girls’ dormitory is to the right and boys’ dormitory is to the left. I will be happy to lead you to yours if you would like,” the prefect tells the group still trailing behind her. Lily wants to see her room before she continues to explore the castle, so she hurries to the stairwell to the left side of the common room. On her way there, she bumps into one of the boys from the train, “Oh, I’m sorry,” she says, embarrassed that she didn’t see him in the first place.  
“It’s alright, Lily, wasn’t it?”  
“Yes, and you’re Remus?”  
He nods his head, “A- about the train earlier, when you were with your friend…Severus?” Lily looks at him expectantly. “I’m sorry about the other two, James and Sirius, that was rude of them. They should not have said those things to your friend – to Severus.”  
“You’re right, they shouldn’t have. They don’t know what his life is like, they don’t know anything about him. They had no right,” Lily snaps back. Remus looks shaken by the aggression in her voice. “Look, I’m sorry,” the venom drained from her voice, “I shouldn’t have snapped at you, you weren’t the one to say those things. You’re actually apologizing, which, I appreciate very much by the way. It’s just that Severus, he’s my best friend. He’s like a brother to me. And…I just don’t like to see people be mean to him is all.”  
Remus nods his head in understanding, Lily thinks she notices a gleam in his eye, something like envy. Maybe he doesn’t have a friend to care for him like that, Lily thinks to herself. The light haired boy turns to make his way to his dorm. “Hey,” Lily grabs his hand, “thank you. For apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Lily pulls Remus in and hugs him tight, “but I really do appreciate you apologizing for your friends.” She lets him go and makes her way up to her new bedroom.   
Lily finds the first year dormitory. “I guess I’m the first one in here,” she thinks out loud. Her trunk is at the foot of a four poster bed, there are three other identical beds in the room. Each of the beds are framed by windows, the window sills are wide enough to be used as a shelf, or even a seat. To the right of each of the beds is a chest of three drawers and on the far side of the room is a stove for the girls to adjust to keep the room as warm as they like. Lily pads over to the window, it is almost too dark to see – but the moon is shining bright enough for her to just make out the edge of the Forbidden Forrest and the Black Lake. She stares dreamily out the window until deciding she wants to see how comfortable her bed is; she turns and flings herself onto it. “Ahhhh,” she sighs. This is the most comfortable bed she has ever laid on. The warm red quilt is as soft as a new puppy’s fur, the golden sheets – not quite satin, but not really cotton either – feel so luxurious.   
I wish Petunia could see all this, Lily thinks. Thinking about her sister makes Lily sad, she remembers the hurtful things her sister said just this morning. “Hello, I’m Mary,” a voice from the doorway interrupts Lily’s thoughts.  
“Oh, hi. I’m Lily.”  
“This is great isn’t it? Way better than my mum made it sound,” Mary chirped as she started to unpack her things.  
“Yes, it’s fantastic,” Lily said climbing out of her bed to start unpacking her things as well. “Your mum has been here?”  
“Oh yeah, she was Gryffindor too, but my dad – he’s a muggle. He’s proud I’m a witch like my mum though. What about your parents?”  
“My parents are both muggles, but they are also proud that I’m a witch. My sister though, she doesn’t like it very much. She calls me a freak.” Lily is surprised that she told her new roommate so much about Petunia, she has never had anyone other than Severus to talk to about her sister – it will be nice to get another opinion.  
“So she’s a muggle too?”  
“She is.”  
“Well I think she’s probably just jealous. She wishes she were magic too and then your mum and dad would be just as proud of her as they are of you.” Mary comments as she hangs a Holyhead Harpies poster near her bed.  
Lily considers what Mary has just said, it’s exactly what Severus has been telling her. Perhaps they are right, maybe Petunia will get over the novelty of the wizarding world one of these days and they can be friends. Mary’s poster catches Lily’s eye, “What is that?”  
“What? The Holyhead Harpies?”  
“Yeah. I’ve never heard of that.”  
“It’s a Quidditch team! They’re my favorite! They’re the only all girls team in the league!”  
“Quidditch? I don’t think Severus told me anything about Quidditch.”  
“Quidditch is only the best sport ever created,” Mary comments, but before she can explain the rules they are joined by their newest roommate.  
“She’s right you know, I do just love to watch the boys fly around. I’m Lilac, by the way, Lilac Lawson.”   
“Pleased to meet you, I’m Lily.”  
“Mary.”  
Lilac walks over to her trunk, takes everything out of it and stuffs it all into her dresser at once, then sprawls across her bed to watch Lily and Mary. She seemed to find the pair fascinating, as she was simply ogling them whilst twisting a strand of her golden locks around her finger. Lily, not sure what to make of what her new roommate’s odd behavior, neatly put her belongings away. Mary however, was mirroring the ogling right back to Lilac. It did not seem to faze Lilac one bit; after staring at her for a full five minutes, Mary gives up playing whatever game it is Lilac is trying to play and finishes unpacking her things. Moments later, the girls’ final roommate strides into the room quiet as a whisper. Lilac turns her gaze to the newcomer, staring intently at her for a solid minute before blurting out, “What’s your name then?”  
The dark haired girl shrinks away from the attention Lilac is afflicting her with and says, “Oh, er I’m sorry, I’m Arabella.”  
“Nice to meet you Arabella, I’m Lilly,” she chimes smiling.  
“I’m Mary,” she offers a small wave.  
Arabella smiles and nods at each of them but her eyes drift back to the golden haired girl. “And I am Lilac, I’m just so glad that we’re all here now. It’s so nice to meet you all.” Lilac has a very shrill voice and Lily is sure she is not the only one who finds it rather annoying. The fake candy coating on her words makes it all the more unbearable. Mary rolls her eyes and places he last jumper in the top drawer of her dresser.  
“Yeah, for sure,” Arabella comments as she quickly puts away her things.  
Lily had wanted to go investigate the common room, but she was just too tired – she felt as though she could fall asleep right where she stood. “I don’t know about you lot,” Lily starts, breaking the awkward tension, “but I’m exhausted.”   
“I am too. I’m so exhausted, this has just been the longest, most exciting day!” Lilac cried.  
This time, all three of the others rolled their eyes as they pulled their pajamas out of their drawers. The girls changed quickly and slid into their beds, Lily pulled the luxurious blankets up to her chin and immediately drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Lily wakes to the rosy light of dawn peeking its head through the curtains on her four-poster. She sits up quietly, but excited all the same, and pulls the curtains back on her bed. None of her bunk mates are stirring yet, she soundlessly changes into her new Gryffindor robes and tiptoes out the door and down to the common room. The warm light of early morning fills the room and a fire crackles happily in the grate. Lily stands there, giddy, trying to take in the warmth of her new home in all its red and gold beauty. She notices a boy sitting in one of the chairs by the fire, his nose in a book. “Good morning, Remus,” she says brightly.  
He looks up, startled, “Oh, morning, Lily. Didja sleep well?”  
“Oh yes, that was probably the best night of sleep I’ve ever had. That bed is so comfortable. How about you?” she asks as she plops into a squishy chair across from him.  
“Not exactly….” suddenly Remus thinks the fire very interesting, “I, er, I had some bad dreams.”  
“Oh no, Remus, that’s terrible. I do hate that for you, I hope tonight will be better,” Lily said sincerely.  
Remus looked from the fire to Lily’s kind eyes, “Thanks Lily, I hope so too.” Wanting to change the subject he said, “Classes start today, are you excited?”  
“Quite. I’m really interested in History of Magic, coming from a muggle family, I don’t know much. I feel very out of the loop,” she confessed.  
“I understand. I’m interested in Defense against the Dark Arts, myself.”  
“I bet that will be interesting, too. I can’t see any of the lessons being terribly dull. This is Hogwarts after all.”  
There was a quiet stir as a few more Gryffindors were beginning to wake and make their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Lily spots the pixie haired girl, called Alice, from the night before. She fights the urge to wave, after all, Alice is a second year and probably doesn’t want to be seen with a clueless first year like Lily. To her surprise, Alice comes right up to Lily, “Good morning, Lily. Care to join me for breakfast?”  
“Of course!” Lily obliges as she rises from the chair by the fire. “Remus? Would you like to come too?”  
“No thank you, Lily; I’ll wait for James and Sirius. Oh, and Peter too,” he adds as an afterthought.   
“Alright then. I’ll see you later.” Lily smiles as she turns and follows Alice out of the portrait hole and down to breakfast.  
Before them, on the table is another great array of food. Lily helps herself to some bacon, eggs, and toast. Alice puts two jelly donuts and one piece each of bacon and sausage on her plate then asks Lily about her roommates. Lily tells her they seem mostly alright, except one of them – Lilac, she says she is excessively jubilant. Alice rolls her eyes and nods because she knows exactly what Lily means. Just then, as if on cue, Lilac bounces into the Hall and makes a beeline for Lily.  
“Well there you are! I wondered where you could have gone!” Lilac cries as she sits down across the table from Lily.  
“I woke up early and came down here so as not to wake you all up,” Lily says kindly.  
“I wish you had woken me up, I wouldn’t want you to be sitting down here by yourself.”  
“But I’m not by myself, you see,” Lily gestures to the older girl beside her, “this is Alice. Alice, this is my roommate Lilac.” Lily raises her eyebrows at Alice to signal that this is the one they had just been talking about.  
“Oh!” Alice says, taking the subtle hint. “How nice to meet you. Welcome to Gryffindor.”   
Lily does not hear Lilac’s reply, instead her attention is on a group of four boys making their way to the table, James Potter at the front of the pack smirks slightly at Lily. She remains stony faced, she is still angry at him and his other friend, Sirius, for the way they treated Severus. However, as her newest friend, Remus passes with them, she shares a slight smile with him.   
“Look, there’s Sirius Black – he is so cute!” Lilac comments. Lily tries to hide her disgust; she really does not want to explain the ordeal from the train to Lilac. But Lilac isn’t paying attention any way, she’s too busy staring at Sirius. “I’ll see you in class Lily. Nice to meet you, Alice, was it? I’m going to talk to Sirius,” and with a flip of her golden hair, she was off.  
“I see what you mean,” Alice says to Lily shaking her head. “Seems like a nightmare, that one.”  
Lily nods and takes another bite of her bacon.  
Professor McGonagall comes around the table distributing the class list to each of the students. “Thank you, Professor McGonagall,” Lily says brightly.  
“You’re quite welcome, Miss Evans. I look forward to seeing you in class this afternoon. Good day,” Professor McGonagall says with what Lily imagines is as much warmth as she will ever see from her.  
Lily looks over her schedule, she is delighted to see that she will have double potions with Severus tomorrow. In fact she will have a class with Severus every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday! She looks to Alice, “Do you have any advice for me? I’m so nervous.”  
“There’s no reason to be nervous, everyone else is just beginning to learn too,” Alice begins, “but really, it will just be a lot of theory for now. You won’t get to practice magic for a few days at least. Well, except for in potions, you’ll probably have to brew something like the cure for boils. Just don’t be late for Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall is very punctilious about punctuality.” There was a sudden rush overhead, hundreds of owls were making their way into the Great Hall carrying newspapers and envelopes and packages to the students. “Mail time,” Alice added seeing the look of puzzlement on Lily’s face.  
“Oh, of course.” Seeing the mail makes Lily think of how much she wants to write her parents to tell them about her new school and her House and the friend’s she’s made already. She makes a mental note to do just that this evening after her classes.   
The bell sounds at 9:00 signaling the students that it is time for them to go to their first class. Lily and Alice bid each other good bye and Lily sets off to Classroom 2E for her first Charms lesson. She sees Severus in the entrance hall, “Hey Sev! How was your first night?”  
His face lights up upon seeing her “It was alright. Everyone seems nice enough. And the food is good. How was yours?” He asks looking into her bright emerald eyes.  
“It was brilliant! Where are you off to?”  
“I’ve got Defense against the Dark Arts first.”  
“I’m going to Charms, we can walk together part of the way,” She smiles widely at him and he smiles slightly back at her. The pair turn and head up the large marble staircase to their classes. “I want to hear all about your first classes, we should meet in the library after lunch. Do you want to?”  
“Sure, Lily, that sounds great,” his pale cheeks turned a baby pink at her request. He still couldn’t believe how much she liked spending time with him.  
“Great!” She shifted her books in her arms, so that one arm was free. She wrapped it around Severus’ neck. “I’ll see you later then.”  
Severus’ cheeks were now closer to the color of Lily’s hair, he wanted to say ‘see you’ but he couldn’t make the words come out so he just nodded and Lily made her way down the charms corridor and he made his way up to Classroom 3C. Maybe being sorted into different Houses wasn’t going to be as bad as he had originally thought.


End file.
